Retail management software must reflect the intricacies of the sector with a streamlined design and interface, especially if you have properties. Online property management aims to streamline your commercial real estate experience and improve customer experience and satisfaction by merging everything into one place for convenience. 

Plenty of retail management software options are available, but keeping an eye out for these essential features will deliver the best return on investment.

What Should You Look For?

1. Rent and Lease Tracking

It’s ideal to have software to let you know when someone is late or a lease is ready for renewal instead of relying on memory or rummaging through filing cabinets. Over 88% of survey respondents suggest they rely on complex spreadsheets for integral enterprise operations, EVEN when out-of-date data and spreadsheet risk could sabotage a business. 

Every leasing agreement depends on the business — a hospital will look radically different from a local bakery. Keeping tabs on the nuances of every line is more accessible when retail management software keeps everything in place.

Suppose a corporate office building is about to renew its lease, but they’re considering sending some workers to work remotely. It will alter the space they use and, therefore, the price. Online property management allows property managers to gracefully negotiate how much renters will pay for changing their lease agreement compared to previous versions. 

Or, if a small business finds itself struggling after a natural disaster and needs rent extensions, you can keep records of its situation to remind yourself why the client is an exception.

2. Omnichannel Marketing Integrations

Finding tenants for commercial properties can happen organically. Other times, it requires extensive marketing efforts. Retail management software with integrations with marketing channels can save time and money on other third-party services. 

If you see how much money you’ve spent on social media marketing within your budget — also available in the retail management software — it’s simpler to see what’s most influential and worth investing in for the long term.

Marketing integration is more than connecting to social channels. It includes accounting software like QuickBooks too. What about the sales reports from Amazon or documents from Microsoft Office or cloud services? How well do these numbers funnel into the retail management software without too much metadata curating? These are all important considerations.

3. Maintenance Request and Customer Service Management

An industrial warehouse needs an evaluation of its HVAC system. A doctor’s office needs a roof inspection. The variety of customer service requests feels infinite. Keeping track of each in a sea of clients is manageable with the right software. How a program outlines and categorizes the requests, assigns technicians and reports progress updates will set one software above the rest.

More efficient maintenance request displays yield decreased operational costs and higher quality of life for tenants. You can build a reputation for being responsive and attentive because nobody forgets to call anyone back or visit a site for an assessment — and having live chat functionality for immediate support goes a long way in keeping consumers happy with your offerings.

Additionally, it helps real estate administrators and property managers review quality assurance through tenant feedback, connecting which workers were assigned which jobs. This capability increases awareness of the operations, reveals which individuals are more proficient at which jobs and highlights improvement opportunities.

4. Investment Data

Real estate is a temperamental game. Everyone knows how much the personal and commercial market changes on the daily — many times due to factors outside your control, like inflation. 

Staying out of the loop about market trends could render your property investments useless if caught off guard by a market change. Following investment data and trends within retail management software can make anyone more proficient in the discussion surrounding the commercial real estate sphere. 

You can see which properties increase in value or compare and contrast every sector’s performance. The rural warehouse might perform better than the urban office building. Knowing why and how to maximize your investment in every property is critical.

5. Quality of Life Features

Usability is paramount in retail management software. Core features like visualizing financials and leases are essential. However, none of these features feels convenient or worth the money if the program neglects the user interface and experience details. 

Here are some examples that software developers should prioritize when attempting to make a more valuable program for property managers:

• Offline accessibility
• Intuitive navigation
• Minimal design with an easy-to-understand interface
• Customizable search features and filters
• Cybersecurity transparency and promises

Using STRATAFOLIO

Expert property management is more possible and profitable than ever with software like STRATAFOLIO. Retail management software dissolves stressors by collecting everything you need to operate efficiently in one place, which is exactly what STRATAFOLIO does. Collect rent, send out new leases, assign maintenance tasks and see all of your data in one place. Schedule a 1:1 demo today and learn how you can utilize our property management software!